Allison - HH - F08

HERBERT HOOVER
Birth Date: August 10, 1874
Death Date: October 20, 1964
Political Party: Republicanism
Vice President: Charles Curtis
TERM: 1928-1932


Herbert Hoover came into the presidency at a time where The Great depression was lurking around the corner. He deserves a C- for his presidency because of the lack of immediate and affecting intervention. Although he did some good with the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and through his foreign policy, his strict policy of individualism was not what the country needed during the time of the depression, and he was not able to part from his views before it was too late.
The goals of Herbert Hoover were obvious in his inaugural address. He wanted to reduce crime and to enforce the Eighteenth Amendment. A large part of his inaugural address was on his goal of world peace. In regards to the economy his goal was to eliminate poverty by the way of self-governing. Herbert Hover was partially successful at some of his goals. A step in the right direction was achieved with National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement towards his goal to reduce crime. The Eighteenth Amendment survived his presidency, although whether it was enforced is up for debate. Those arguing that it was not in enforced, though, would probably win this debate. The goal of creating World Peace was one that he worked hard at and in result succeeded in to the best of his ability. Hoover did this by going on a goodwill tour to Latin America and by removing troops from Haiti and Nicaragua. He was the start of the "Good Neighbor Policy". One large area Hoover failed in to the enth degree was eliminating poverty within the borders; in fact, Hoover sunk millions of people into poverty. The laissez-faire, self-help outlook led to people consuming things they could not pay for. Some causes of the depression were not directly coming from Hoover, but the decisions made to solve these problems were.
The relationship between Congress and Hoover proved to be one of difference. For example, The Hawley-Smoot Tariff of 1930 was extremely distorted from what he had originally brought to Congress before amendments were added. After going through Congress, the amount of the tariff rose from 38.5 percent to 60 percent. Hoover also vetoed the Muscle Shoals Bill, saying the government should not compete with citizen's electric companies. After the seat majority went to the Democratic Party things got worse because they felt Hoover did not have the citizen's greater good in mind. Also during the push for bonuses by the veterans, a bonus bill was proposed and shot down in Congress.
The worst decisions made by Hoover were the one's made leading up to the depression. There was a large overproduction in farming and industry resulting in people's consumption of products they could not pay for. Money was poured into farming to buy up surpluses and aiding farmers but this failed. Next, the McCumber Act of 1922 was supposed to aid the country but instead put us in a bigger hole. Foreigners were angry at such a high tariff and it ended up not benefiting us at all. Britain raised interest rates, which led to the selling of American stocks and finally the major stock market crash on October 1929. If Hoover had done more to make sure that stocks and lending was being backed up then the country surely could have avoided such a big calamity. Although most of what Hoover did was not beneficial to the country, there was some good. President Hoover really set a foundation for good foreign policy in the future. Troops being taken out of Haiti and Nicaragua were a decreased cost for America, and it also gave us a good reputation. This was by far the best action he made.
The actions made that most affected future generations were the actions made after the large stock market crash. Hoover was stuck in his individualist ways and this did not allow him to the help the country when it needed it the most. When he finally made efforts to give businesses more money and to build the Hoover Dam, through the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, it was already too late. Four million people were jobless after the crash and the money supply of the government was very low. Generations to come were effected by the depression, children had to stand in line for food and families were in debt for decades. The lush lifestyle of the 1920's was gone, and would not come again for a very long time. If Hoover would have taken action faster the dent made could have been much smaller, but he did not, the effects of this lived for years and years.
Hoover made attempts to be a good President but they proved too feeble. He could have done much more to save the country if he had not been so stuck to his ways. His strong point was his foreign relations, which helped the country. Overall, he deserves the less then average grade of a C- because he could have been exemplary, and the country truly would have been better, in most ways, without him.

Herbert Hoover," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2008
http://uk.encarta.msn.com © 1997-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.Hoover, Herbert.
"295-State of the Union." Letter to Senate and The House of Representatives. 3 Dec. 1929. White House.
Hoover, Herbert. "Herbert Hoover's First Inaugural Address." Inauguration of Herbert Hoover. 4 Mar. 1929.
"President Herbert Hoover." Hippocampus. Monterey Institute.org. 4 Dec. 2008 <http://www.montereyinstitute.org/courses/us%20history%20ii/course%20files/multimedia/lesson59/explore/l59_t04_xp1.htm>.